“Federalism and provincial authority is already included in the Iraqi Constititution. I guess the senators have not read it.”
Well, yes and no. Did you actually read it?
1. “Governorates”, what I call provinces, are not sovereign entities, they are creations of or “authorities” organized by the “federal” government with some local organizing decisions that include a “council” with no specification of how representative that council is, or how it is created.
2. A level in between the provinces and the Federal level is permitted, but is not required, constitutionally, and only in the case of the Kurdish area has that level, a region, been recognized; so far. That level can be created a number of ways and those ways include local and federal representative participation. The results, in non-sectarian terms in a U.S. example would be as if the states were more controlled by the federal government, unless they got together and organized, with federal agreement, into regions, like “New England”, “Pacific”, “Southwest”; etc. Only at that level (for now in the Kurdish area) does an area in Iraq have a constitution, established by the people in that area, for government administration and authority of its own (as long as its not contrary to federal law or authority).
3. Although there is a second representative body mentioned at the federal level (besides the main parliamentary body - Council of Representatives), which is said to include representatives of the governorates (provinces) and/or regions, it appears to be a creature of the authority of the existing Council of Representatives, as it is law passed by it that will specify anything more than the shell (name) that has been given to it (Council of the Federation).
At present, in all but the Kurish area, local government will be affectively organized by and controlled by the “federal government”; not just subject to federal law.
1. “Governorates”, what I call provinces, are not sovereign entities, they are creations of or “authorities” organized by the “federal” government with some local organizing decisions that include a “council” with no specification of how representative that council is, or how it is created.
Article 107 describes the exclusive powers of the federal government. It describes what the federal government is responsible for:
Article 111 states: "All powers not stipulated in the exclusive authorities of the federal government shall be the powers of the regions and governorates that are not organized in a region. The priority goes to the regional law in case of conflict between other powers shared between the federal government and regional governments." NB: Sounds like our 10th amendment.
Article 112: "The federal system in the Republic of Iraq is made up of a decentralized capital, regions and governorates, and local administrations." It is up to the regions and governorates to determine their own structures of government just as it is with our states. It is not up to the federal government to dictate how these governments will be structured or run any more than our constitution does.
Article 116: "The region shall adopt a constitution that defines the structure of the regional government, its authorities and the mechanisms of exercising these authorities provided that it does not contradict with this Constitution."
Article 117 stipulates the powers of the regional powers. They have the right to amend national legislation within that region. <